MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said it has instructed Filipino diplomats in New Zealand to look into the case of Filipino seafarers sacked and abandoned by a shipping company in Fiji.

In a report by abc.net.au, at least seven Filipinos claimed they were discarded by their employer Goundar Shipping after they raised their working conditions to management.

Four of them said they were fired last Christmas, while the three of them claimed they were left in a remote wharf. Since then, they have been stranded in Fiji.

The DFA said in a statement the Philippine embassy in Wellington, New Zealand will extend necessary assistance to the stranded Filipinos.

"Aside from the embassy, the seafarers are also being assisted by the Fijian government and the International Transport Workers Federation," it said.

According to the report, the Filipinos are now represented by a legal counsel, who is pushing Goundar Shipping to pay for the seafarers' expenses to return home.

"And quite frankly we'd like to see Goundar Shipping prosecuted for this because these seafarers have really suffered," said lawyer Adrienne Ali, according to abc.net.au.

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv